Why did the Holy One, blessed be He, blessed is His name, before whom there is no favoritism and who examines the innermost thoughts and feelings, bring darkness upon them? It is because there were sinners among the Israelites who had Egyptian patrons, had wealth and honor, and did not want to leave. The Holy One, blessed be He, said: If I bring a plague upon them publicly and they die, the Egyptians will say: Just as it5The plague of the firstborn befell us, so it befell them.
Therefore, He brought darkness upon the Egyptians for three days so they6The Israelites could bury their dead and their enemies would not see them, and they would praise the Holy One, blessed be He, for it. What is thick darkness? Rabbi Avdimi of Haifa said: It was darkness many times over.7It was exceptionally dark. Our Rabbis said: There were seven days of darkness.
How so? The first three days, one who was sitting and sought to stand, stood, and one who was standing and sought to sit, sat. Regarding those days, it is stated: “There was a thick darkness in the entire land of Egypt three days. They did not see one another.”
Three other days, one who was sitting was unable to stand, one who was standing was unable to sit, and one who was crouching was unable to straighten up. In their regard it is stated: “and no one rose from his place three days.” [Through the events that transpired] during the three days of thick darkness,8At the conclusion of the three days of thick darkness, the Israelites would ask the Egyptians to borrow the items. the Holy One, blessed be He, granted the people favor in the eyes of the Egyptians and they lent them.
For [during these days] Israelites would enter the houses of Egyptians, and would see in them silver vessels, gold vessels, and garments. [When the Egyptians were asked to lend these items,] if they would say: ‘We do not have anything to give you,” the Israelites would say to them: ‘Behold, it is in such and such place.’ At that moment, the Egyptians would say: Had they sought to deceive us, they would have taken them during the days of darkness and we would not have sensed it, as they had already seen them.
Since they did not touch them without our knowledge, likewise, they will not keep them. They lent to them, in fulfillment of what is stated: “Then they will emerge with great property” (Genesis 15:14). That is what is written: “But for all the children of Israel there was light…” It is not stated [that there was light] in the land of Goshen, but rather “in their dwellings,” as everywhere that a Jew would enter, light would enter and illuminate for him what was in the barrels, the boxes, and the treasure chests.
And in their regard it is stated: “Your word is a lamp to my feet [and a light to my path]” (Psalms 119:105). These are six days of darkness that were in Egypt. The seventh [day] of darkness was the day of darkness at the sea, as it is stated: “There was the cloud and the darkness and it illuminated the night” (Exodus 14:20). So, the Holy One, blessed be He, dispatched a cloud and darkness and darkened for Egypt and illuminated for Israel, as He had done in Egypt, and in this regard it is stated: “The Lord in my light and my salvation” (Psalms 27:1).
Likewise, in the future, the Holy One, blessed be He, will bring darkness, as it is stated: “For, behold, darkness will cover the earth…” (Isaiah 60:2).